Arica & San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

Alpacas graze in the stunning Lauca National Park

The border crossing into Chile was straightforward and I arrived into the city of Arica. A couple of days was enough to explore this coastal city, the nearby Lauca National Park, and practice my Spanish with an Argentinian and an Irish guy over some cheap but very drinkable Chilean wine - about the only thing cheap in Chile.

The Sun sets over Valle de la Muerte in San Pedro

I then headed off on another overnight bus to San Pedro de Atacama in the middle of the Atacama desert, supposedly the driest place on the planet. San Pedro was touristy, expensive, but strangely beautiful, with hazy mountains visible on the horizon and blazing sunshine in the daytime.

Floating in Laguna Cejar

Although expensive, the tours out of San Pedro into the surrounding area were also pretty amazing. The valley of the moon and the valley of death were completely surreal, with sand dunes and rock formations covered salt in that made me feel like I was on Arrakis, the planet from Dune.

Floating in the salty Laguna Cejar and watching the sunset over the desert whilst drinking a a pisco sour were also memorable experiences.

 On my final night in San Pedro I went on an astronomy tour into the desert where our French guide Alain and his wife had ten telescopes set up to watch the night sky focused on the moon, Venus, a red giant, several nebulae and other celestial objects.

Then it was time for another long bus ride and another border crossing into Argentina.